A guide to the aseptic treatment of wounds / by C. Schimmelbusch ; preface by E. von Bergmann ; tr. from the 2nd rev. German ed., with express permission of the author, by Frank J. Thornbury ; with 43 illustrations.

  • Schimmelbusch, Curt, 1860-1895.
Date:
1895
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A guide to the aseptic treatment of wounds / by C. Schimmelbusch ; preface by E. von Bergmann ; tr. from the 2nd rev. German ed., with express permission of the author, by Frank J. Thornbury ; with 43 illustrations. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Harvard Medical School.

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    tine employed for removing the fat is kept free from germs only by somewhat careful handling. With reference to the soap, V. Eiselberg showed in 1877 that that which had been boiled in course of its manufacture must be aseptic. Only in the case of hasty preparation where, in the saponification, the animal fats, often heavily laden with bacteria, have been mixed with the lye, cold, will micro-organisms be found present in the soap, and concerning this latter point individuals must require a guaranty of their suppliers. The bran of 'almonds, now in limited general use, always contains bacteria in abundance, and can be applied only after thorough sterilization ; it had better entirely be dispensed with. The brushes require the most scrupulous attention, and unfortunately it is they which, as a rule, receive least notice. These articles are allowed to lie carelessly about commodes for weeks or even months at a time, and are then used directly in disinfection. It is evident that a brush which has served for removing from the physician's hands pus or masses of faecal matter, will take up these substances in a large measure, and after being thus infected will, in its further usage, dis- seminate the germs which are adherent to it. Furthermore, brushes much employed are moist, as a rule, and by reason of the quantity of albumen which they absorb in the form of desquamation, pus, and blood, they become genuine culture habitats for microbes. Repeated investigations have shown that the brushes used in hospital wards, autopsy rooms, and laboratories contain innumerable germs. Even after a single application in the disinfection of the skin, many thousands of micro-organisms, as readily conceivable, may be received into the brushes (the Author and Spielhagen). Practitioners who have come to recognize this defect in our disinfecting measures have endeavored to remedy it in various ways, one to asepticize the brushes frequently, another